eBay allowing expired car seats to be sold

[Squishy0405]

I recieved this petition via email & I know how we [i]all[i] feel about them. I am a mother to a toddler so the topic does strike me as interesting. I am leaving out all the copy & paste here things & just posting the basic email(the mistake with the symbols came like that), I am not asking ANYONE to sign it, I just included the links!

Hi
You have received an invitation from name witheld to support the following petition http://petitionspot.com/petitions/carseats .

Petition Statement: Car seats expire approximately 6 years from the manufacturer's date. (very few exceptions to that rule). Ebay is allowing these expired carseats to be sold on their website. Have you ever left a plastic toy somewhere and noticed how it seems to fade and just isn't as good as it was when you bought it? Plastic does not biodegrade. Plastic actually breaks down in a process called photodegrading, which means they simply break apart into ever smaller pieces, eventually forming “plastic dust". Because of this, the plastic shell weakens and can't take the force of impact from a car accident when it starts this process. There are so many people that do not know that they expire. Someone could purchase an expired carseat from Ebay and it could be fatal. That is why I am starting this petition to stop Ebay and/or to make tougher guidelines for them to sell carseats. http://www.childrestraintsafety.com/...xpiration.html http://babyproducts.about.com/b/a/257283.htm http://www.epinions.com/content_4753956996 http://home.comcast.net/~dcbsr/test/..._old_seat.mpeg

It is for a good cause, so please take the time to visit the petition and support it by signing it.

Thank you.

Is that true that car seats are not meant to be used after six years? I have a nine year old toddler seat that I used for my daughter that I now use when I look after my friends little one. She's not big enough for a booster seat instead yet, but I don't want to buy another car seat if I can avoid it. The seat is a tubular metal frame with plastic seat.

I think the advice is to not buy second hand baby seats anyway. I would use a second hand seat from a friend if I trusted the history of the seat but never buy one from a stranger.

From one of the cited webpages.

"This was begun in response to infant deaths from air bags. The companies realized that they had millions of products in use that said nothing about the danger to a rear-facing child. The concern became one that "best practice" and regulations change over time, so that child restraint becomes "obsolete" and less effective than a new product, much the same way that medicines may change or become less effective after some time has passed." (source: CPSTE )

Here's something else.

[FullMetal]

I don't know about that (I have a 5 month old so I really haven't thought of it yet) but it does make sense, But, I'll use the example of a football helmet, it doesn't "expire" after 6 years, but every 5 or so you need to get it recertified. basically ship it back, they test it, ship it back with a pass (gets new sticker on the inside) or fail (no new sticker, and a fail stamp on the inside) if it fails you're buying a new helmet. Now both are made of plastic, and designed for safety. one gets more abuse than the other, So, I'm wondering if there's a re-certification for car seats. which would of course be harder with newer regulations as well...

I'll check the manuals when I get home.

[Le Chevalier Blanc]

Originally Posted by Squishy0405

Ebay is allowing these expired carseats to be sold on their website.

While I agree that it's important to be aware of such issues for the safety of one's child, I disagree that it is eBay's responsibility to police the selling of such objects. If you want to get picky, you should never buy a used carseat at all... According to this site (emphasis mine):

http://www.carseat.org/Recalls/recall.shtml

How can you tell if your child safety seat is safe?

Make sure the safety seat is less than 10 years old (preferably less than five) ), the expiration date stamped on the plastic has not passed, and it has never been used in a crash. You can't be sure about the history of a used safety seat unless you got it from a friend or relative. [...] Check for possible damage, such as cracks in the plastic, frayed straps, stiff buckles or harness adjusters.

However such guidelines apply to many plastic safety objects. The one that comes to mind for me is motorcycle helmets:

http://www.msf-usa.org/downloads/helmet_CSI.pdf

Most helmet manufacturers recommend replacing your helmet every two to four years. If you notice any signs of damage before then, replace it sooner.

Child safety is always a charged subject, but is it really in society's best interests to have eBay policing such things? And if so, should the also police motorcycle helmets, sports equipment, used cars, and other objects that could be considered "dangerous" if not brand new?

And how will eBay go about confirming that the advertised carseat is less than 5/6 years old without an inspection?

Just seems like a slippery slope to go down...

[jimmy101_again]

Originally Posted by Squishy0405

... Plastic actually breaks down in a process called photodegrading, which means they simply break apart into ever smaller pieces, eventually forming “plastic dust".

So, if the plastic is in the sun for many years it breaks down. If is has been in storage, a closet for example, for long periods of time it would be OK.

I wonder, how do you date a child car seat? I've seen manufacture dates stamped into various plastic products but are infant seat manufacturers required to put a date stamp on a seat?

[KirkMcD]

Originally Posted by jimmy101_again

I wonder, how do you date a child car seat? I've seen manufacture dates stamped into various plastic products but are infant seat manufacturers required to put a date stamp on a seat?

From the Federal Register, Vol 67, No 190, Tuesday October 1, 2002, Page 61524

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 213 (49 CFR 571.213) requires that all currently manufactured add-on child restraint systems must be labeled with the following information (S5.5.2): the model name or number, the manufacturer’s (or distributor’s) name, the statement "manufactured in (month, year)," the place of manufacture (or location of the distributor’s principal office), a certification statement,...

[KirkMcD]

Originally Posted by strangelittlegirl

The seat is a tubular metal frame with plastic seat.

I think the advice is to not buy second hand baby seats anyway. I would use a second hand seat from a friend if I trusted the history of the seat but never buy one from a stranger.

It's not the main structure of the seat as much as it is the harness system and where it attaches to the seat. You can't really tell by eye how much fatigue there is in the harness system.